Strawberries are the symbol of summer, bursting with a bright red color and offering a beautiful fragrance to entice you into health. They are packed with health benefits and offer a superior choice of nutrition, giving you vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, protein and tangy fruit sugar, making a delicious snack or addition to any meal.
They can be used in so many ways: they can be served raw, blended into smoothies, preserved, and juiced, and can even been baked or cooked into amazing meals. Here are 14 exciting health benefits of strawberries:
- They Are Bursting With Antioxidants
Their bright red color signals that strawberries are packed with antioxidants, flavanoids and phyto-nutrients, which have been proven to prevent oxidative stress to your cells, decrease ageing and prevent disease.
- They Prevent Colds and Flu
One cup of strawberries meets 141% of your daily Vitamin C requirements, which makes it a powerhouse for keeping your immunity against colds and flu strong. Vitamin C increases white blood cell count, which serve as your strongest soldiers against germs, bacteria, viruses and disease.
- It’s Great for Heart Health
Studies have shown that Vitamin C is so powerful for your heart that it has been compared to light exercise! The rich dose of Vitamin C contained in every strawberry helps to reduce free radical damage and prevents the constriction of blood vessels in the cardiovascular system, making strawberries an excellent choice for a healthy heart.
- It Helps you to Lose Fat
Strawberries contain no fat and no cholesterol, which makes them an excellent snack for leaning out your body. It’s also incredibly low in calories, which further helps to reduce daily caloric load, thereby promoting weight loss.
- They Are Excellent for Your Eyes
Poor eye health is caused by a lack of essential vitamins and minerals, as well as free radical damage, and strawberries can help to improve it. It contains Vitamins A and C, as well as phytochemicals and antioxidants, which have all proven to reduce cataracts, night blindness and macular degeneration.
- They Help to Prevent Cancer
Ellagic acid, lutein and zeanthancins are compounds that have been proven to suppress cancer cell growth, reduce oxidative damage to living cells, and rejuvenate health. Strawberries are a rich source of all three, making it a great choice as a proactive measure against disease.
- They Reduce Wrinkles
Strawberries help to reduce wrinkles and the visible sign of ageing due to the high dose of Vitamin C that they offer, which has been proven to boost collagen production. Collagen keeps skin firm, toned and maintains its elasticity, giving you a younger, healthier skin for your entire body.
- They Lower Cholesterol
In order to stay healthy we need to balance our LDL (bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol levels, and plaque buildup in our arteries can contribute to excessive LDL levels. Strawberries contain fiber, ellagic acid and plenty of antioxidants, which have been linked to reducing plaque buildup and therefore LDL levels significantly.
- They Reduce Inflammation
Inflammation comes in various forms, some of the most common being arthritis and swollen legs. The antioxidants, potassium and magnesium that strawberries offer are the perfect support to eliminate inflammation in the body and to restore fluid balance.
- They Help to Lower Blood Pressure
Hypertension can be caused by a poor diet, stress and excess sodium, which can all be prevented by eating more strawberries. They offer fiber, low doses of sodium and plenty of vitamins and minerals to lower blood pressure, calm nerves and prevent damage to the cardiovascular system.
- They Promote Excellent Digestion
One cup of strawberries meets up to 11% of your daily requirement on dietary fiber, which helps to improve digestive health. It helps to keep you regular, eliminates toxins and excess waste and helps to keep blood sugar stable.
- They Repair Brittle Bones
Strawberries contain manganese and calcium, which are essential compounds in the process of brittle bone repair. They also contain a decent dose of magnesium, which helps to improve calcium absorption.
- They Prevent Birth Defects
A diet rich in folate helps to prevent birth defects, as well as promoting proper spine and brain growth in growing babies. Strawberries are an excellent source of folate, making it one of nature’s best pregnancy supporters as well as offering incredible flavor to keep cravings at bay.
- They Improve Hair Health
Eating strawberries has been proven to boost hair health, offering complex B-vitamins, copper and powerful antioxidants to stimulate hair follicles for longer, stronger hair growth.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/fruits_vegetables.html
